Coking retort oven



19%. June J. VAN ACKEREN COKING RETORT, OVEN Filed Jan. 18, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 w w w June 28 1927;

COKING RETORT OVEN Filed Jan. 18. 1921 :5 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 1927' J. VAN ACKEREN COKING RETORT OVEN Filed Jan. 18' 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 A w @W v Patented June 28,1927. I 1,633,911. UNITED STATES "PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH VAN ACKEBIEN, F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR'TO THE KOPPI'JBS GOMPAN Y, OF PITTSBURGH, PEN NSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

coxme nn'ron'r OVEN.

Application med January 18, 1921'. Serial no. mazes.

This invention com rehends improve- Figure 1 is a crosswise vertical section ments of general utility in the coking retort through a coke oven battery embodying feaoven art; and also comprehends certain imtures above specified and equipped with the provements especially applicable to coking improvements of the present invention, the

retort ovens of the well-known cross-regenview being taken longitudinally through a erative type exemplified in the patent to H. coking chamber and a pair of regenerators, Koppers No. 818,033 dated April 17, 1906. 'in planes indicated by the line A, A of The invention has for objects the provi- Fig. 2; sion of a coking retort oven having, as an F ig; 2 is a composite vertical sectional elein important characteristic, a novel system in vation taken longitudinally of a coke oven control of the flow through the flame flues of battery, in planes indicated by the lines B, the heating walls, which permits a consider- B, C, C and D, D of Fig. 3; able reduction not only in the length but also Fig. 3 is a composite vertical sectional ele-- in the cross sectional dimensions of the hori-- vation taken transversely of a coke oven batzontal or bus flues located at the top of the tery, in planes indicated by the lines E, E 70 vertical flame flues and connecting a pluralandF. F of Fig. 2, and ity of the latter with each other, while 'per- Fig 4 is a composite horizontal sectional mitting the employment of the usual system elevation taken in planes indicated by the of the flow through the flues, wherein uplines G, G and I, I, of Fig. 2.

flow in the flues on one side of the oven takes The same characters of reference indicate 75 place concurrently with downflow in the the same parts throughout the several views flues on the opposite side. The present inof the drawings. vention permits, for example, the substitu- In the embodiment illustrated in the tion of a pair of horizontal flues in, each raw ngs, e lnventlon is incorporated in a heating wall for the usual single horizontal combination coke oven battery, i. e., a batflue. With a plurality of separate horizontery having provision for being operated tal flues in each heating wall, each individual her Wlth producer gas for fuel or with flue need communicate with only part of the Coke oven gas burned in an atmosphere of total number of flues of the heating wall and r inary preheated air, such as is utilized in consequently the dimensions of each flue may ry Coke (WP 11$ r Wi h coke v n gas 85 be considerably reduced, because of the reu d i an atmosphere containi g o air duction in the volume of fiow which must be d Ya n tral gaseous diluent which is inmaintained through the flu Th abov troduced intothe flame flues separately from stated reduction in size of the horizontal the r- A C m in tion coke oven battery flues is an important advantage for the reahaving these features described and son that it enables a considerable thickening claimed in the application of Joseph Becker and strengthening of the walls of theoven for Letters Patent for a coking retort oven structure in the region of the horizontal filed April 23, 1920, Serial No. 376,126. For flues. convenience, the present description. will be to In addition to the objects recited above, onfined to the present illustrative embodi- 95 the invention contemplates a novel regenerament of the invention in such a combination tor construction and system of flow thereoven battery; the novel features and imthrough and through the .flues. promoting provements made. by the invention are susuniformity of distribution, and has for other ceptible of other applications, such, for ex- 6 objects such other improvements or advanample, as ordinary so-called coke ovens 9 c5 trative instance'on I I specifi tages in construction and operation as are employing coke oven gas as a ,fuel, or ordifound to obtain in the structures and denary so-called ;'.-gas oven employing provices hereinafter, described or claimed. 7 ducer gas as a ,fuel; hence, the scope of the In the accompanying drawings, forming invention is not'confined to the specific use a part of'this specification, and showing, for." and specific embodiment herein described as purposes of exemplification, a referred an illustratlve example. form and manner in which the IDVQIltlOIl- Referring tothedrawingszth'ere are illus may be embodied and practiced, but without trated views of a coke oven battery or plant limiting the claimedinvention to such illusof the :y-product type having features above said'oven battery embodies in its several coking chambers or ovens through construction a plurality of crosswise elongated heating walls 11, 11 and a plurality of intermediate crosswise elongated vertical coking chambers 12, 12. The heating walla= 11 form the side walls of the respective coking chambers 12, as shown more particularly in Fig. 2, and, in the present instance, are supported by the heavy supporting or pillar walls 13, 13 which extend crosswise of the battery and are located, as shown in Fig. 2, beneath the respective heating walls 11, 11. These pillar walls collectively form the main support for the entire super-structure of the oven battery and are themselves supported upon a flat mat or platform which constitutes the sub-foundation on which the entire battery rests. .7 i

The coal to be coked is charged into the charging holes 14 located in the top 15 of the oven battery and positioned directly above the oven or chambers 12, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. These charging holes 14 are equipped with the usual removable covers, which are removed during charging of the individual ovens or coking chambers and are placed in position to close the tops of such cokin chambers during the entire coking or distil ing operation. The gases of distillation ass from the tops of the several coking 0 ambers 12 through gas outlets 1 6 and thence through ascension pipes (not shown) into the usual gas collecting main which carries the distillation products to the 'byproduct recovery apparatus. I

. Heat for coking the charges of coal in the several ovens or chambers 12 is derived from the heating walls 11, which, as above mentioned, extend crosswise of the battery at the sides of the coking chambers. Referring now more particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, each heating wall 11 is constituted of a plurality of flame or combustion flues 17. The flame flues of each heating wall are, in accordance with the present embodiment of the invention, operatively disposed into two groups, a

, pusher side group F and a coke side group G.- When the flameflues on one side of the battery, for example the pusher side are burning, that is to say, operating for upflow, the flame flues of the coke side group of the same heating wall are operating for downflow to permit exhaust of the waste bases. Reversal of the battery is effected to cause the coke side group of heating flues to operate as upflow or burning flues and the pusher side group as downflow flues.

The crosswise regenerators 18 of the re generator oven or battery are located in planes beneath the planes ofthe aforesaid eating walls 11 and coking chambers 12,

and, in the present instance, extend in parallelism beneath the coking chambers and between the pillar walls 13. Located in the middlelengthwise vertical plane of the coke oven battery, is a vertical partition 19, as shown in Fig. 1, which partition extends all the way up from the mat of the battery to the bottom of the overylying coking chamber and from one to the other of the pillar walls 13. The regenerators, which are respectively located on opposite sides of the battery extend inwardly to said partition 19 and are separated thereby as clearly shown in Fig. 1. This arrangement provides pairs of re generators extending crosswise of the battery, each pair being constituted of a pusher side regenerator, indicated by the reference character F and a coke side regenerator incheated by the reference character G. The pusher side regenerators F correspond to the pusher side groups of flues F and the coke side. regenerators G correspond to the coke side groups of flues G.

Each regenerator 18 is a chamber containing open brick work, commonly called checkerwork, and indicated at 20, with distributing sole channels 21 underneath such checkerwork, the channels forming the soles of such chambers and opening up into the checkerwork. If desired, each regenerator 18 may be divided, as shown in the present embodiment of the invention, by a vertical partition 22 which extends longitudinally of the regenerator and serves to separate the regenerator into two flow compartments located respectively on the opposite sides of such partition 22.

. The several regenerators are heated, in alternation by the hot combustion products that are exhausted from the flame or combustion flues hereinbefore mentioned and then impart suchheat to the medium that they feed into these-flame flues. Each regenerator 18 communicates with the corresponding groups of flues 17 of the two heating walls adjacent to and respectively located on the opposite sides of the regenerator, by means of ducts 23, each duct leading upwardly from a regenerator into a flue,

as shown in Fig. 2. Thus, each regenerator of the group F is connected with all of the \Vith this construction and arrangement,

every group of flues F or G is connected by ducts 23 with two adjacently disposed re-' generators of the corresponding group, and, consequently, each group of flues may be fed with gaseous mediumfrom two separate regenerators. The advantage of this arrangement will be clear in the hereinafter described operation of the battery.

In the present embodiment of the invention, the groups of flues on one side of the battery are operating for flow in one direc- I tion, while concurrently the groups of flues on the other side of the battery are operating for flow in the opposite direction, and consequently there is maintained flow in reverse directions through the regenerators that are respectively positioned on opposite sides of the centrallongitudinal partition 19. The reversal inflowthrough the flame flues 17 and their communicably connected regenerators may thus be said to take place crosswise of the battery, in accordance with the common practice in this art. The reversal of the battery is efi'ected at the end of an operating period determined by practice, and by means of any preferred type of reversing mechanism. The function ofsuch reversal is as follows: The regencrators that prior to the reversal o erated as inflow re,

generators become out ow regenerators, and the outflow operating regenerators become inflow operating regenerators; the upburning series of flues switches functions with the downburning series of flues on the opposite side of the battery, and the sup ly of gas is turned off from the previous y upburning flues and turned on into the mains of the previously downburning flues.

Each flame fiue 17 of each heating wall has at its top a port or opening 24; for draft and the passage of combustion products or waste gas from the flame within the flue. These ports 24 open up into horizontal or bus flues 25 formed in the heating walls and connecting al l of the vertical flues that communicate with such horizontal flues 25 by means of the ports 24. According to the invention there are in each heating wall a plurality of, in the present instance,- two of such horizontal flues 25 positioned end to end with respect to each other and respectively located on oposite sides of the central dividing line L.

y reason of the fact that there is a plurality of such horizontal flues 25 in each heating wall, these flues 25 are not required to be of so great capacity as that necessary in present practice and consequently the cross sectional area of each horizontal flue 25 malyq be materially reduced proportionately wit the length of such flue, with the result that the thickness and strength of the heating walls are substantially increased in the region of the horizontal flues. 'Moreover, because of the fact that each horizontal flue 25 communicates with a substantially reduced number of vertical flues, in the present instance, half of the flues of the heating wall, uniformity and distribution of the flow through the vertical flues and the communicating regenerators is greatly promoted.

@As shown in Fig. 3, each such horizontal flue 25 tapers from its middle toward its opposite ends in such manner that the smallest cross-sectional area of each flueare located at its opposite extremities. The tapering channel thus'formed serves to distribute the flow equally through' the. several vertical flues 17 withwhigh suchchannelo9mmunicatesQAs shown, the two horizontal flues 25- of each heating wall are communicablyconnected with each other by means of passageways -26 which extend crosswise of the battery or preferably open up into substantially the middle portions of their respective connected flues 25. Thus the flow from a pusher side group F of flues may pass into the communicating channel 25 and thence access flues 28- which extend from the top of the horizontal flues 25 in each heating wall to the to 15 of the battery, there being an access ue positioned over each flame or combustion flue of each heating wall. As shown in Fig 3, the lower portions of the access flues 28 which intersect the horizontal channel 26 may be closed by covers 28? adapted to seat over said lower portions of the access flues.- Extending crosswise of the battery in each pillar wall 13 and located beneath the heating wall 11 thereabove, is'apair of gas supply channels'29 and 30. These channels 29 and 30 are for the purpose of supplying coke oven gas to the several flame flues on each side of the central line L and, for this purpose, the channel 29 communicates with the individual flues of the pusher side group F by means of ducts,'31 that lead .from such channel 29 individually into the bottoms of individual flues; and the channel 30 which supplies the several fiuesof the coke side groupG communicates therewith by means of similar connecting ducts,

Vithinthe several ducts are disposed. the usual nozzles 32. The supply of coke oven gas to the-respective channels'29 and 30 is derived from coke oven gas mains of the usual type'and respectively located'on the opposite sides of the battery and extending longitudinally therealong. Suitable means is provided for admiting or shutting off the supply of gas with respect to each pair of channels 29 and '30, it being understood that the supply of gas ismaintained in oneof I the channels ofieach pair while shut off from the other. p d

' For operating the battery alternativel with the use of'a special generator gas, suc as producer gas as a fuel, alternatelydis posed inflow operating regenerators may be optionally connected with a producer gas main, by mechanism such-.as'is disclosed in 1 the before mentioned application, Serial No.

376,126, whereas the regenerators that are intermediate such alternately disposed regenerators are supplied with air, so that producer gas and air may be conveyed into the upburnmg flame flues.

The operation of the battery, when using a special generator gas, such as ordinary 1 producer gas as a fuel, is as follows: the supply of coke oven gas to the coke oven gas main and to all of the coke oven gas channels 29, 30 is cut off. A supply of producer gas is'l'permitted to flow into the alternate regenerators, such as are operating for inflow, and a supply of air enters the intermediately disposed regenerators. As each flame flue is communicably connected with two regenerators, and each regenerator with the flame flues of two adjacently disposed heating walls, gas and air preheated in the respective gas and air regenerators enters and burns" upwardly in each inflow operating vertical flue. The waste gases from the upburning flues passes into the horizontal flues 25 and thence through the channel 26 to the,

horizontal flues on the opposite side of the battery. From the last mentioned horizontal flues, the exhaust gases pass downwardly through their communicably connected flame flues and finally through all of the regenerators on the downflow side of the battery to the waste gas tunnel, through which the waste gases are conveyed to the stack. On reversal of the flow, the inflow operating regenerators and their communicably connected flame or combustion flues become outflow regenerators and flues, and concurrently oven gas in the channels 29 or 30 is fed into the upburning flues. The reversing mechanism is operated at each reversal to place all of the inflow operating regenerators in communication with the outer air and concurrently allof the outflow operating regenerators in communication with the exhaust.

A further mode of operation is with coke oven gas as a fuel, combined with a supply of neutral gaseous diluent to the upburning flues. In so operating the batteries the supply of producer gas is turned off and the supply of coke oven gas is turned on. Instead however of permitting air to flow into alternate regenerators that are intermediate such alternate regenerators, waste gas is permitted to flow into alternate inflow operating regenerators and are delivered thereby to the upburning flame flues. The admission into each of the upburning flue's of a supply of neutral gaseous diluent, such as waste gas, along with the air, is effective to lengthen greatly the flames within such flues and to prevent the localization of the hottest flame temperature in the extreme lower portions of the flues.

The invention as hereinabove set forth is embodied in a particular form of construction but may be variously embodied within the scope of the claims hereinafter made.

I claim:

1. In a coking retort oven, in combination: coking-chambers; heating-Walls contiguous thereto and each constituted of vertical combustion fiues disposed in groups operating alternately for upflow combustion and downflow of combustion-products, such vertical lines extending upward substantially to the top of the coal-charge space in the adjacent coking-chambers; horizontal flues immediately above and each directly communicating with vertical flues within one of said groups; a connection-flue above said horizontal flues of each heating-wall and disposed higher than the coking-chambers, said connectionflue connecting the aforesaid horizontal flue of one group with the horizontal flue of a reversely flowing group of vertical fines of the same heating-wall, each of said horizon tal flues porting intermediate its ends into said connection-flue whereby each part of said horizontal flue is required to accommodate the volume of combustion products collecting from or distributing to only part of the vertical flues served by such horizontal flue; and cross-regenerators respectively serving the mutually connected burning and off-flow groups of vertical flues of each such heating-wall; substantially as specified.

2. In a coking retort oven, in combination: coking-chambers; heating-walls contiguous thereto and each constituted of vertical oombustion flues disposed in groups operating alternately for upflow combustion an downflow of combustion-products, such vertical flues extending upward substantially to the top of the coal-charge space in the adjacent coking-chambers; horizontal flues immediately above and each directly communicating with vertical flues within one of said groups; a connection-flue above said horizontal fiues of each heating-wall, and disposed higher than the coking-chambers, said connection flue connecting the aforesaid horizontal flue of one group with the horizontal flue of a reversely flowing group of vertical fiues of the same heating-wall, each of said horizontalfiues porting intermediate its ends, into said connection-flue whereby each part of saidhorizontal flue is required to accommodate the volume of combustion products collecting from or distributmg to only part of thevertical flues servedby such horizontal flue; and regenerators serving the groups of vertical flues of each such heatingwall; substantially as specified.

3. In a coking retort oven, in combination: coking-chambers; heating-walls contiguous thereto and each constituted of individual vertical flame flues disposed in groups oper ating alternately for upflow combustion and downflow of combustion-products; horizontal flues immediately above and each directly communicating with vertical flues within one of said groups; a connection-flue above said horizontal flues of each heating-wall, said} connection-flue connecting the aforesaid horizontal flue of one group with the horizontal flue of a reversely flowing group of vertical flues of the same heating-wall, each of said horizontal flues porting intermediate its 'ends into said connection-flue, whereby each part of said horizontal flue is required to accommodate the volume of comrectly communicating with vertical flues within one of said groups; a connection-flue above said horizontal flues of each heating-wall, said connection-flue connecting the aforesaid horizontal flue of one group with the horizontal flue of a reversely flowing group of vertical flues of the same heating-wall, each of said horizontal flues porting intermediate its ends, into said connection-flue, whereby each part of said horizontal flue is required to accommodate the volume of combustion products from only part of the individual vertical flame flues served by such horizontal flue; and regenerators serving the mutually connected burning and off-flow groups of vertical flues of each such heatingwall; substantially as specified.

5. In a coking retort oven, in combination; a plurality oi coking chambers; heating Walls contiguous to such coking chambers and respectively constituted of Vertical combustion flues; tapered horizontal flues in each heating wall and respectively connecting a plurality of the combustion flues of their respective heating walls;- the horizontal flues being also communicably connected with other horizontal flues of the same heating wall; and regenerators communicating with said combustion flues; substantially as specified.

6. In a coking retort oven, in combination: a pllurality of coking chambers; heating wa s contiguous to such coking chambers and respectively constituted of vertical com bustion flues; tapered horizontal flues in each heatin wall and respectively connecting a plurality of the combustion flues of their respective heating walls, the cross-section of. each of said tapered flues being greatest at the region at which the greatest volume of gas flows; the horizontal flues being also communicably connected with other horizontal flues of the same heating wall; and regenerators communicating with said combustion flues, substantially as s ecified.

JOSEPH VAN A KEREN. 

